Consumers’ Decision‑Making in Online Grocery Shopping: The Impact of Services Offered and Delivery Conditions

Abstract

The growing consumer interest in buying food online has caused that online grocery shopping (OGS) is the current most evolving e‑commerce category. Therefore, focus on the factors influencing e‑consumer’s decision‑making is an important key to tailor optimal marketing strategy. OGS is specific due to the food aspects (quality, freshness and durability) as well as to the offered services and delivery conditions of the online purchase process. The aim of the paper is to extend external factors of online consumer decision process and examine the influence of offered services and delivery conditions toward consumer’s decision‑making in online grocery shopping. The paper focuses primarily on the choice of the type of service and the determination of delivery conditions that have a positive impact on the customer’s decision‑making. The empirical analysis was conducted on a sample of Czech online grocery buyers involving 536 respondents interviewed online. The results show the high customer sensitivity in delivery time and charge, while the impact of the minimum required order on the consumer’s intention to shop grocery online is not so decisive. The results suggest the Delivery Passes is the consumer most requested service and could play a role in building loyalty.

Keywords

• online grocery shopping
• e‑commerce
• decision‑making process
• consumer behaviour
• marketing strategy
• services